


This Daddy Thing

by mistresscurvy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Daddy Kink, Kink Negotiation, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 14:40:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5131325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistresscurvy/pseuds/mistresscurvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam looks up at him suddenly, his cheeks pink. "Did you know, like, that some of our fans, the reason they call me 'daddy' is because it's some sort of sexual thing? How mad is that?"</p><p>Louis is suddenly glad he put down his tea. "What?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Daddy Thing

**Author's Note:**

> So back in October 2014 at the very end of the WWA tour, [this happened on twitter](http://mistresscurvy.tumblr.com/post/130559539989/mistresscurvy-imaginethat1d-i-cant-stop). I wrote about half of this story back then, and then it sat on the back burner for a year until I finished it this past week. Thank you to harriet_vane and oliviacirce for the cheerleading and to sunsetmog for the Britpick <3

Louis has no idea how Liam can stand twitter. 

He knows how he deals with twitter. The mute button is his best friend, with blocking and the unfollow feature playing key roles as well. He's a pro at jumping on twitter for a few minutes at a time, scrolling through his mentions every once in a while but more often just checking the private list he has of the people who really matter: his family, everyone on the team, friends from Doncaster and of course the boys. Occasionally he'll answer some fan DMs or call out arseholes who somehow think they can at reply him without him noticing. And as soon as he's had too much, or seen one too many tweets about his mum's relationships or badgering him about supposed band secrets, he closes the app and starts playing a game or buys some new music or calls his mum, because nothing ever grounds him like hearing her voice and catching up on what the babies are doing now.

Liam, on the other hand, actually seems to try to read everything. Which is impossible, for a start; even if Liam did nothing but read his at replies all day he'd never catch up, and the ratio of interesting tweets to boring (or mental) tweets would never make it worth it. But Liam always does like a challenge, and so he tries and tries and tries, treating it like just another part of his job. Only because he's Liam, he doesn't seem to think of it like a job, just wanting to have a conversation with the fans in every way that he can. It doesn't seem to matter that ten percent of their fans are frankly wankers; the ninety percent who do nothing but love them and support them are all Liam cares about. 

Louis knows whenever he checks his _home_ list in the morning and it has twice as many tweets as it usually does that Liam has probably gone on another tweeting spree. They're usually entertaining and provide some new fodder for taking the piss out of Liam during a slow day, but after a rough start to the year, Liam hasn't had any particularly notable twitter conversations in at least three or four months; not since they were in South America. By the time the tour is winding up in America, Louis is almost hoping for something new to use against Liam. He's a bit bored, truthfully.

* * *

Louis is lounging in his trackies in his hotel room in Tampa, still having his first cup of tea of the day, when there's a knock on the door. 

"You'd better be someone I recognise," Louis calls out while he walks to the door. He knows he put the Do Not Disturb hanger on the door, so it shouldn't be housekeeping. He looks through the peephole, ready to back away from the door and call Preston who's in the room next to his. 

Once he sees who it is, he blows out his lips, irritated at himself for being so certain it was a fan. But this far into any tour, he's a bit sick of dealing with the constant demands from people who don't technically know him. 

The knob standing outside his door at 8 o'clock in the morning, on the the other hand, he definitely knows. "Thought you said you were sleeping in until noon," Louis says to Liam after he's let him in the room. "You want tea?" he asks over his shoulder as he pads back to his bed. 

Liam shakes his head. "I thought I'd sleep for ages! I was on twitter until I don't know when. But I just popped awake fifteen minutes ago and couldn't fall back asleep," he says, crossing over to the other side of the bed and climbing on. He sighs as he leans back against the headboard. "I'll have some tea, though," he adds belatedly. 

Having just settled back onto the bed with his mug of tea, Louis gives a loud sigh of his own and gets back up to make Liam a cup. "Couldn't have told me before I sat down?" he grumbles, plopping a teabag into the second mug and pouring water over it. "If you want sugar you'll have to get up yourself, I'm not destroying it for you," he decides. No need to encourage him. 

"Louis," Liam complains, but he's already stood back up and walks over to the desk where Louis's set up his tea station. They stand in silence while Liam turns a perfectly glorious beverage into a sludgy, sugary mess, but soon enough they're both back on the bed, sipping at their tea and staring at the blank TV. 

Louis's just about to suggest seeing if they can find some more of the peculiar infomercials that are so much stranger than the ones he's seen at home when Liam says, "So, Louis."

"Hmmm?" Apparently this isn't just a social call. 

"I just. There were some things people were saying last night on twitter, and well," says Liam hesitantly, not looking at him. 

Louis carefully puts his tea down; he knows from past experience that it's a bad idea to get angry whilst holding tea. Tends to end with scalded thighs, at best. "Liam, you _know_ that people can be wankers on twitter."

Liam shakes his head. "No no, I know. It's not that sort of thing. It's just..." He hesitates again. 

"Liam, just spit it out," Louis says, positive that whatever it is that happened Liam is either making too much or too little of a fuss about it, and Louis would like to know which it is. 

Liam still doesn't say anything, and Louis's got half a mind to get his phone and find out for himself when Liam finally starts to talk. "Well, I thought I would ask my feed, because I've seen it around, you know, and I knew someone would tell me. And they did, but I didn't--" He stops short, and Louis really is going to kill Liam if he doesn't just tell him. 

He doesn't get a chance to before Liam looks up at him suddenly, his cheeks pink. "Did you know, like, that some of our fans, the reason they call me 'daddy' is because it's some sort of sexual thing? How mad is that?"

Louis is suddenly glad he put down his tea. "What?"

Liam nods vigorously. "Apparently! I mean, it was trending again last night, and I just thought I'd ask, because, well. I don't like not knowing things," he continues. He's looking down at his hands, fingers picking at the duvet. "So, like. Had you ever heard of that?"

Louis has absolutely no idea how to answer. "Yeah," he says finally, his heart pounding in his head. "I've heard of it. Did you--you really never knew?" 

"I thought it was just like a nice thing! Like, for the younger fans in particular, and I started seeing it more after I grew the beard, and I figured, I don't know. I liked thinking that they looked up to me like that," Liam ends, sounding sheepish, his face the colour of a Man U home kit. 

"Oh, Liam," Louis says, and the laughter that's been threatening to break through since Liam first said the word 'daddy' finally does. He laughs until he cries, trying to control it, but completely unable to. He can't stop even when he can hear himself grow a bit hysterical, because if he stops laughing he might have to think about what this means beyond their fans having an amazing night. "Thought it was a nice thing," he finally gasps out. 

Liam punches him in the arm and Louis topples over onto his side. His belly aches from the laughter, his laughs turning into gasps for breath. "I didn't know! And besides, why would I think my fans were saying it that way? It's a bit naughty, that," he says, his voice dipping low like he's afraid someone might hear. 

Slowly Louis feels like he can draw a full breath again. "Yes, Liam, the fact that it's 'a bit naughty' is part of the appeal, I would think." He takes a deep breath and makes himself ask the question. "So, you didn't think the fans would be calling you daddy for 'naughty' reasons"--Liam whaps him in the head with a pillow when Louis makes air quotes, but he is undeterred--"but surely you knew that _generally_ that was a thing. That some people like."

Liam shakes his head, eyes fixed on Louis, his face completely solemn and without guile. And suddenly Louis needs a stiff shot, no matter that he's still in his jammies. 

Louis tries out a smile. 'Well, I'm sure that your at replies are an exciting place this morning."

Liam groans and tips his head back against the headboard. "It was trending, even. I was just asking a question!" he says, but Louis can see that strange sort of pride that Liam sometimes gets, when the fans trend something that any normal human being would be embarrassed over. The attention that comes with fame is something Liam likes, and craves. It's an attention that Liam feels obligated to reply to, even when he shouldn't. 

Trust Liam to find a trend involving him and a kink he hadn't known existed to be charming rather than humiliating. 

That thought is a bit too close to the surface for Louis, so he quickly pushes it back down. "I'll have to keep an eye out for any interesting signs at tonight's show," he says instead, sitting up and getting his cup of tea from the side table. He takes a sip, feeling moderately in control. 

Liam laughs. "Oh god, I hadn't even thought about that yet!"

"Who knows, maybe they'll introduce you to other new things," Louis says. 

"Oh god," Liam says again, hiding his face behind his hands, and Louis takes another deep breath. He can figure out what to do once he's not sitting next to Liam. Obviously.

* * *

Louis needs to stop thinking about it.

At least he was wrong about signs at the concert. There were the usual assortment of messages held up in the crowd, but nothing that specifically referenced Liam's twitter adventure or nicknames the fans had for him. Louis supposes he should be grateful for that.

Instead he feels even more foolish for obsessing over it. Miraculously, Liam hasn't brought it up again; for once he isn't beating a dead horse. It should be a relief, but all it does is make his own focus on it seem more ridiculous. If Liam spent all of 5sos's set telling the same story over and over again Louis would have had an excuse for thinking about it all night.

Rather, it's his own brain that's churning the new information, chewing it over until there's nothing new to think but unable to stop. He thinks it every time he looks at Liam, the word _daddy_ flashing through his mind. It's only years of practice that allow him to continue on as if nothing is different, but it's a relief to get offstage after Best Song Ever. Maybe he can find somewhere to hide. 

Liam is practically skipping to the dressing room. "One more to go, boys! And then it's time for home and a break." Louis knows that sound in his voice, knows when Liam is going to be up until dawn again, too wound up to sleep and desperate for distraction. "Who's up for a drink?"

Louis keeps his head down, not certain of much at the moment but one hundred percent positive that having a drink with Liam tonight is a terrible idea. Luckily Harry and then Zayn both say they're in after a moment. He's trying to come up with an excuse to bail when Niall hands it to him. 

"Not tonight for me, boys," Niall says. "I've been knackered all day, want to just lie around and watch a film, maybe."

"Sounds good to me, Nialler," Louis says. "I'll stay in with you."

"You sure?" Liam asks them both, eyes flicking between them. "It's one of our last nights."

Louis rolls his eyes at that. 'We've still got tomorrow night, and after the last show. And we will see you again, Liam."

"Leave them to their film, we'll enjoy Florida like it's meant to be," Harry says, slinging an arm around Liam's shoulders and giving Louis a shrewd look. Harry isn't always the most observant of them, but he can be a lifesaver at times, whether he means to be or not. 

When he and Niall settle in with 22 Jump Street, Louis doesn't say a word. He's not planning to bring it up at all; he just wants something else fill his brain for a bit, without Liam there to remind him. But the credits are still going when Niall asks him, "So why're you staying in, then?"

"Can't I just want to enjoy your company?" Louis asks back. 

"You can," Niall says. "I just don't know if you are at the moment." 

"I always enjoy your company," Louis says firmly. 

"Mmm," Niall replies. 

They watch in silence for five minutes, Niall glancing over at Louis every thirty second or so but not saying a word. 

With a huff, Louis finally grabs the remote and pauses it. "Okay, so like. Have you ever thought you understood something, or knew how you felt about it, and then one day something happens and you realise you've been totally wrong?"

Niall thinks for a moment. "Like, if you thought you hated aubergine and then found out it was in baba ganoush?"

Sure. Louis can work with food metaphors. "Yeah! Like, you'd been saying a word, and you thought the other person understood why you were saying it, and then you talked to them and it turned out they didn't so nothing you'd thought was going on was?"

Niall is silent for a long minute. "So then, not food related at all."

Suddenly all Louis can think about is Liam's twitter feed explaining the appeal of chocolate body paint to him, or edible knickers or something, and it's so easy to imagine he almost wants to check twitter to make sure it's not happening right now. "No. More people related."

"Or maybe _person_ related?" Niall asks, and Louis begins to regret bringing it up at all. 

In for a penny, though. "Did you see Liam's twitter stuff from last night?"

Niall starts to laugh. "I swear, sometimes his twitter is the best comedy I could ever ask for."

Louis has to smile at that. "He's a special boy."

"One way of putting it," Niall says cheerfully. 

Louis takes a deep breath. "Well, the thing of it is, I didn't know he didn't know what that meant."

"So?" 

Louis waves his hand meaningfully. 

Niall waves his hand back and then shrugs. 

Louis sighs. "He didn't know why I called him that either."

Niall stares at him. "Well, why did you call him that?"

Louis stares back. "Don't be thick, Niall."

Niall holds up his hands. "Listen, you do what you like--that's fine and I don't care and unless you _want_ to talk about it we never have to. But the fact that you're bringing it up now means you've got something you need to talk about. Which means you need to use your words, Louis." He reaches out and smushes Louis's cheeks together.

Louis bats away his hand. Sometimes he hates having good friends. Also, he needs some alcohol. "Well," he says, climbing off the bed and grabbing the six pack out of the mini fridge, "if Liam doesn't know what daddy could mean..." He stops to crack open a Guinness and hands the first one to Niall. 

"Cheers," Niall says.

Louis opens his own and raises it toward Niall before taking a gulp. He swallows and makes himself continue. "Then it's possible he doesn't know what the point of me calling him that was."

"Which was?" Niall asks, waving his beer at Louis. 

"That he should hold me in his lap and take care of me and then let me blow him," Louis said bluntly. 

"Wow, okay, that was more than I needed," Niall says. 

Louis points at him accusingly. "You asked!"

"Yeah, but--fine, you're right, I asked. So he never knew about the other stuff, then?" Niall asks.

Louis sighs. "I didn't think he needed to! Plus, I thought that if he didn't respond to me calling him daddy then asking him if he'd hold me down and fuck me probably wasn't the best plan."

"Louis, what did I just say," Niall says, sounding pained. Louis smiles at the expression on his face. It's the only redeeming part of this whole conversation. 

"Be a supportive friend, Niall," Louis says 

"Ugh," says Niall with feeling. "Anyway. Listen, you know I love him, but it's Liam, mate."

"Yeah?" Louis says slowly. He braces himself for Niall to say that dating within the band is a terrible plan and will ruin everything, to which Louis has no response other than 'every boy band has to end sometime,' which he's fairly certain won't go over well. If for no other reason than Niall will call him out on being full of shit. 

"And so there was never a snowball's chance in hell that he'd pick up on you hitting on him with one word like that. Daddy," Niall snorts. "He barely notices when some girl wearing practically nothing drapes herself all over him at a club. Why would he notice from one word."

"He might have noticed from me," Louis says, a bit insulted. "Surely he knows me better than some stranger in a club."

"Liam," says Niall simply, and Louis scowls and concedes he might have a point. "So when are you going to talk to him then?"

Louis was avoiding thinking about that. "Probably not until after the tour." Niall gave him a judgy look. "Oi, what's that face for?"

"You're a fucking idiot," Niall says confidently. "You have been from the start. Just calling him daddy, when you _knew_ he just thought it was the daddy direction nonsense even if he hasn't been that bloke in ages. And so you had a ready excuse for why you never needed to tell him you wanted him to do whatever things you're into which I don't need to hear about, thank you. You're a chicken."

Louis opens and closes his mouth a few times and then, when the magical words fail to come to mind, he drinks more beer. 

"S'what I thought," Niall says cheerfully. "Lucky for you, now you've got the perfect excuse. Thank the fans for that."

Louis snorts, trying to imagine how they'd react if he went on twitter and thanked them for clueing Liam in. Unlike Liam he had no desire at the moment to whip up his followers into a frenzy. "Seems like a weird time, though, us just about to go home for a bit," he says hesitantly. 

Niall shrugs, drinking down the last of his beer and holding a hand out for another one, which Louis passes to him. "You're asking him to do kinky sex things with you, there's never going to be a normal time," he says. "This way if it goes badly at least you'll have a bit of a break from each other."

"When has a break ever been good for Liam?" Louis asks seriously. 

Niall laughs. "Fair enough. Still say you're scared."

Louis stares down at his beer, tapping the top with his finger. He _was_ scared, there was no denying that, but he didn't only want to wait because of that. If he was going to do this, finally tell Liam that what he (and the fans, apparently) saw in him was great and could be something incredible, he wasn't going to fuck it up. Which meant planning. Which would have to wait for tomorrow. 

"Thanks, Nialler," he says, shifting closer to him on the bed. 

"You're welcome," Niall says back, slinging an arm around Louis's shoulder and smacking a wet kiss on his cheek. "Now are we done with all them feelings yet? Because I really did want to see this."

Louis elbows him in the side but turns the film back on.

* * *

He finds Harry the next morning in his room, looking way more awake than Louis feels.

"Why aren't you hungover?" Louis complains. "Weren't you out for ages last night?

"The benefits of clean living," Harry proclaims, staring meaningfully at the packet of cigs Louis has in the pocket of his trackies. 

"Ugh," says Louis feelingly.

"Did you stop by just to yell at me? Because I've got plans today," Harry says, unperturbed as always. 

"Yeah, the dolphin people, right?" Harry nods, and Louis sighs inwardly. Never a day off from being Harry Styles. 

Best to rip it off like a plaster, then. "How do you bring up sex things with people?" he asks with no preamble. 

Harry blinks once and then gets a thoughtful look on his face. "What kind of sex things?"

"Like, kinky things."

"Dangerously kinky?" Harry looks intrigued. 

Louis shakes his head. "More like playful. But not like chocolate body paint or anything, just--"

"Nothing that could cause physical harm," Harry finishes. 

"Right."

" _Emotionally_ dangerous," Harry says, apparently just warming up. "That's where the excitement is."

"Sure," Louis says, because Harry's not wrong, exactly. 

"That's more fun anyway," Harry says knowingly. "I think you just ask them, Lou. Like, do you fancy a bit of bondage, or whatever."

"What, over tea?" Louis asks sarcastically. 

Harry shrugs. "Sure, if you like. It's better not to do it when you're already naked, usually--too much pressure, plus it's awkward if they say no and your willy's out."

Louis considers asking about the story behind that, and then thinks better of it. "What if we've never been naked together at all? Or at least, not like that."

"Then you don't have much choice then, do you? Have to start with it out of bed, then." Harry's staring at Louis curiously. "Who's this about, anyway?"

"Could be just hypothetical, for when I find the right person," Louis deflects. 

Harry snorts. "Pull the other one, you don't plan anything unless you know it's happening. If you were Liam I might believe that, but--oh, no," Harry cuts himself off when Louis startles at the mention of Liam. "Is it Liam?"

Louis groans. "Can you not--"

"Oh, it _is._ So what do you want to do?" Harry asks, grinning like an idiot. "Want to see if he's up for some role play? A night of cross dressing? Maybe some mummification between mates?"

"Some _what?_ " Louis asks, baffled. 

"Oh, it's, like, really intense full body bondage, only all the way around," Harry says, twisting his arms round himself in demonstration. 

Louis holds his hand up. "I get the idea. And no, none of those."

"Then what?" Harry asks. 

Louis glares at him. "I think I liked it better when we never talked."

"You hated that," Harry says confidently. "And you came here this morning, not me."

Louis makes a face at him. "Did you see Liam's tweets from two nights ago?"

Harry frowns. "Yes, but what does--oh."

Louis makes a sweeping gesture with his hands. "And there you have it."

"Hmmm." Harry was chewing on the side of his finger. After a long, deep silence, Harry looked at Louis and let his hand fall from his mouth. "Just do it all at once, then. Tell him the whole thing, let him digest it, ask some questions. And then leave him be for a bit."

"Leave him be to do what?" Louis says. He didn't want there to be any thought at all involved. In his view, it was the thinking that'd got him into this mess in the first place. That and Liam having no sense of boundaries with the fans whatsoever. 

"Let him have a think on it," Harry says patiently. "You've had years to get your head round this. Liam's only just learnt about it, and now you're asking him for, like, a hands on practical application."

"I've not had years," Louis protests, but Harry just rolls his eyes and sighs until Louis flings his arms up in defeat. "All right, all right, maybe years. This is still more talking than I'd like," Louis grumbles.

"You can talk now or talk in a few months when Liam's having a meltdown over it all," Harry says. "Have fun cleaning that up."

"Why are you even assuming he'll go along with it?" Louis demands. 

Harry doesn't bother to answer at all.

* * *

"But why would he, like?" Louis asks Zayn later on that afternoon. They're in the lounge of Bus 1, enjoying the final smoke of the Where We Are tour. Harry's off with dolphins, and Liam and Niall are out doing something involving sunshine and sweat. Everything in Florida involves sunshine and sweat; Louis is fairly certain it's unhealthy. "Too much sun is unhealthy," he announces to Zayn, handing over the joint.

Zayn hums and takes a practiced couple of puffs, letting the smoke out slow. "Wait, go back a bit--why would who what?"

Louis frowns. He'd been sure he'd told Zayn. "I said," Louis says uncertainly. 

Zayn shakes his head. "Didn't."

Ah, fuck. "Why would Liam let me call him daddy?" Louis clarifies. 

"He does, like," Zayn says, blinking slow and solemn. 

"Yeah, but in a filthy way," Louis says.

"Oh," Zayn says. Louis makes impatient pinching motions with his fingers and Zayn hands back the joint. "He'll try anything you say, won't he?"

"Just because he's always up for a prank or whatever doesn't mean that," Louis says.

Zayn shrugs. "Seems like he'd give it a go. And that's what you want, innit?" 

"Yeah, but," Louis says, trailing off. Fuck, Harry was right. "Why does Harry always know things?" he complains. 

Zayn takes the topic shift in stride. "Part of his charm."

Louis snorts. "If by charm you mean anything but."

Zayn smiles, a bit secretive. "What else?"

And that settles it, really.

* * *

Louis waits until after the final show in Miami. For all that the other boys seem confident that this will end with Louis calling Liam daddy and everyone happy, he's not risking them being wrong.

Plus it feels weird, telling him. The whole point is that Liam should be the one in charge. He always is, but it's different if Louis asks him to be. Liam doesn't need to change anything; just add orgasms and everything will be perfect. 

Only Louis can't be the one making it happen. He keeps going round and round in circles, feeling more nervous than he has been before a show in ages. 

Of course Liam notices, catches Louis with his legs twitching all over the place while 5sos are out there performing. "Last show," Liam says.

"Yeah," Louis says, trying to grin but failing badly. 

"It'll be great, Lou," he says earnestly. "You know last shows always are."

"That thing'll make it difficult," Louis says, nodding at the cast on Liam's arm.

"Nah, we'll figure it out. A little cast can't stop us going mental," Liam says, grinning. "I'll make sure of that."

He does, of course, the final show everything it always is. The flour is kept well away from Liam, because Louis won't be responsible for Liam falling on his arm and hurting it again, but it's exactly the right end for this year. 

After that it's a mess backstage, the whole crew getting ready for one final strike and load out, but the boys and the band and everyone else have already starting the goodbyes, even if it's only really for a few months before they're off to Australia and Asia again. 

They make it back to the hotel, drinking deep into the night, the entire lot of them having one more long night of a party before it'll be time to board the plane home, one last time to toast this year and everything that's happened. 

Louis watches Liam work his way through the room, giving everyone a handshake and a hug, his sincerity and gratitude overwhelming as always. It's hard to believe that they actually pulled it off, and at the same time Louis got used to playing stadiums much more quickly than he could have predicted. It felt right for them to be up there, which is as terrifying a thought as he's ever had, too close to thinking that they deserved it, that it made sense for them to achieve all this.

He shakes his head and takes a pull from his beer, trying to jostle the thoughts out of his brain. He'd had this particular meltdown long ago; tonight he's scheduled to potentially blow up his relationship with his best mate and writing partner. He has no time to also fret about whether he deserves any of this. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" Liam says, suddenly standing to his left. 

"Cost you more than that," Louis replies immediately. 

"What's the going rate, then?" Liam asks.

Louis finishes off his beer. "Another drink," he says, smirking at Liam. "Get me another bottle, Daddy."

Liam furrows his brow at that. "Lou," he says slowly, starting to actually blush.

This is much better than talking about his feelings ever would be. "Go on then, I told you what the price is," Louis says, handing his empty to Liam.

He watches as Liam looks down at the bottle and then back up at Louis, like he's trying to solve a puzzle. But Louis sees the moment when Liam decides to just go along with it, which is the only acceptable reaction really. 

Liam's still off fetching drinks when Harry comes crashing into Louis. "So, have you done it yet?"

"Asked him to get me a drink and called him daddy while I did it," Louis answers. He stuffs his hands in his pocket, desperate for that drink.

Harry frowns. "That's not really having a conversation."

"Oh my god, Harry, it's a warm-up. I'm not just going to leap right in there," Louis says, rolling his eyes. Thankfully Liam comes back just then with two drinks. "Thanks, Daddy," he says to Liam, giving him a wink. 

Liam glances over at Harry. "Is this a joke? Did you tell him about the twitter thing?"

"Saw it myself, Liam, but no, I think Louis has something he wants to talk with you about. Oh, there's Heather from the dolphin rescue, must go!" Harry says and runs off before Louis can properly punish him. 

Louis looks over at Liam, who's beginning to look worried, of all things, which is exactly the wrong way for him to look for this conversation. "Come on, let's go out on the balcony, I need a smoke," Louis says. He smiles at Liam and waits until he smiles back before turning to make his way through the crowd out of the room. 

They head out onto the private balcony. Louis lights up a cigarette and holds the lighter steady for Liam to catch it as well, the night still muggy but not too hot. They smoke in silence for a while, Louis trying not to think of anything at all, his entire body aware of Liam stood next to him. 

"Can't believe we'll be home this time tomorrow night," Liam says, and suddenly that's the breaking point for Louis. He can't stand to banter through small talk. 

"I didn't come out here to talk about going home," Louis says, taking a deep drag off of his cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment too long and trying not to shake. 

"What did you want to talk about, then? I gave you the going rate, so you owe me," Liam says, nodding down at Louis's beer. 

"You did." Louis holds the cigarette in his mouth and starts to peel the label off the bottle, struggling to find the words. He lets the label fall to the floor and takes another drag, looking up at Liam and shrugging. 

Liam's brow furrows. "Do you not want to talk?"

"I do, I just don't know how to say it."

Liam drops his cigarette to the ground and stubs it out, putting his hand on the back of Louis's neck and squeezing. "You can say anything to me."

"That," Louis says, his heart pounding. "That right there. Your hand."

Looking confused, Liam starts to slide it away. "I'm sorry--"

"No, no, don't move it," Louis says, hearing it come out like a plea. "Please, Daddy."

It doesn't work; Liam drops his hand from the back of Louis's neck and frowns at him. "Louis, this isn't funny anymore, stop it."

"I'm not being funny," Louis says, his voice cracking a bit. It hasn't taken any time at all for him to fuck this up, has it. He hurriedly takes a last drag from his cigarette and then puts it out on the railing, flicking it off the balcony.

"Like, it's a little weird and kind of funny that our fans call me that, but I'm in on the joke, now," Liam says, his good arm curled over his cast, cradling it to his chest. Louis feels small and out of his depth, and he wants more than anything for Liam to just get it, to take charge and know what Louis needs like he usually does. But that's the problem right there. 

"I'm not--I'm not taking the piss, Liam, I promise," he says. "Fuck, Harry warned me and everything."

"Warned you about what?" Liam asks. He still looks confused but less actively suspicious, which is a step in the right direction, at least. 

"Said I needed to talk about my feelings," Louis mutters. It feels easier to talk around it like this, to turn it into something that's about Harry's theories about emotions and not about what Louis wants. 

"You can, if you want. You always can," Liam said, with such typical and undeserved sympathy for Louis and his crisis that Louis just about flings himself off the balcony out of self-preservation. 

"Why are you always so good?" Louis asks. Liam blinks at that but Louis keeps going, finally determined to just say it all even if it ends in disaster for him. "You're so good, and if I ask you for this and you say no, then it'll mean I've really fucked it all up, and I don't think I can stand that."

"Louis, you're scaring me a bit," Liam says. He looks like he's trying to smile just in case Louis's joking, but the concern is bleeding through anyway. 

Louis backs up further onto the balcony until he can't see anyone inside in the party, until it's just him and Liam and the muggy Miami night, worlds away from anything that feels familiar and safe. "I want to call you daddy, just like the fans do. Only I want to mean it, and I want you to like it, and to know what I need from it, and to give it to me. Isn't that ridiculous?" Louis asks, feeling more than a little hysterical inside but trying desperately to hide it. "Bet you're glad I shared my feelings now."

"Do you promise you're serious and that you're not taking the piss?" Liam asks.

And god, Louis wishes he could just take the out Liam is giving him here, tell him it's a terrible joke and that somehow Harry had got involved and knew about it. But Liam is looking at him like his answer holds the secret to the universe, and he's shit at lying to Liam at the best of times. "I promise I'm not taking the piss, Liam."

"Okay, then." Liam gives a little satisfied nod. "What do you need from it?" 

Louis stills. "What?"

"You said you want me to know what you need from it. But it's a bit hard for me to just, like, guess or whatever."

"Liam," Louis begins, his voice cutting off when Liam's hand softly closes around his wrist, holding him gently. He can't look away from how it looks, Louis's wrist so small and delicate in Liam's big hand. 

"I did some googling after talking to you about the whole twitter thing," Liam says. "And it's not something I ever would have thought of?" Louis's heart sinks and he tries to tug his hand away, but Liam just moves with him. "I mean, I don't think I'm clever enough to think of that."

"It's not clever, it's stupid," Louis says, wishing he'd kept this secret to the grave like he'd been planning on up until a few days ago.

"I don't think it's stupid," Liam says, somehow getting even closer to Louis. Louis takes a deep breath and finally looks away from his wrist in Liam's hand and up at Liam's face. 

He looks a bit nervous but not at all uncertain or mocking or, worst of all, pitying. He looks the way Liam always does when his attention is on Louis, like there's nothing else in the world that exists or matters, and for once Louis lets himself feel the full effect of that focus, lets it warm him all the way through from the inside. "You don't?" Louis asks, needing to see Liam's reaction. 

Liam shakes his head. "I don't know what I'm doing, but I mean." His thumb rubs gently back and forth over the inside of Louis's wrist. "I did a lot of reading," he says finally, cheeks pinking up. And this Louis can work with. 

"Tell me what you liked when you read about it, and I'll tell you if that's what I want," Louis says.

"I want to take care of someone," Liam says immediately. "I want them not to worry, and to make them feel good, and like they're loved and special."

"No wonder the fans call you daddy," Louis joked weakly, his heart pounding out of his chest.

Liam shakes his head, looking intently at Louis. "I don't want to do that for our fans, not like that." He drops Louis's wrist, and Louis has a moment of panic before Liam slides closer and gets his arm around Louis's waist. "I want to do it for you." Louis sees him swallow hard before asking, "Is that what you want?"

"Yeah," Louis says, his embarrassment no match for the safety he feels from being held close by Liam. "All of that."

"Do you want me to call you baby?" Liam asks, eyes locked with Louis's.

Louis nods, not trusting his voice. 

"I'm going to kiss you now, if that's okay," Liam says, looking down at Louis's mouth, and something inside Louis breaks open. 

"God, Liam, stop telling me what you're going to do and just do it," he says, the words barely out before Liam shuts him up with his mouth. 

Everything goes quiet in Louis's brain, the voice that hadn't ever shut up even while Liam was saying all the things that he wanted most finally falling silent. Because it was Liam kissing him, and this might never have been anything he ever thought he'd really get, but he knows exactly how to follow Liam, how to trust him. And he's able to let it all go in an instant, lets Liam take over like he's wanted him to for years, because somehow even with this Liam knows Louis better than he knows himself. 

Liam's arm with the cast is pressed tight against Louis's lower back, his good hand cupping Louis's face as he kisses him slowly. Louis pushes up onto tiptoes and gets his arms around Liam's neck, kissing him back but not pushing. Maybe later he'll poke and prod Liam until he snaps and punishes Louis for it with just the right kind of attention, but for now he wants to be good. He wants to be worthy of this. 

Liam deepens the kiss and Louis shivers; it feels like a reward, like this is exactly what Liam thinks he deserves, and he moans into Liam's mouth, his legs shaking. It's almost a relief when Liam slowly pulls away, a chance for his head to clear again and to remember where they are, christ. 

"We should probably stop," Liam says, still only inches away from Louis. "Or maybe it's time to get going?"

Louis nods and then leans in for one more kiss, still thirsty for more. When he pulls back Liam rubs his thumb over Louis's lower lip, smiling slightly. 

"Let's go, then." 

Their hotel rooms are just two floors down but they have to wait for the lift for ages, and Louis's never been so impatient in his life. He's fidgeting and bouncing on the balls of his feet, and when Liam's hand settles on the back of his neck it's both a relief and not enough. He jabs his elbow into Liam's side to get his feelings across. 

"Brat," Liam whispers in his ear. He's pink-cheeked and looking proud of himself when Louis looks over at him, ready to pitch a fit, and that stops him in his tracks, seeing that side of Liam peeking out while they play this game together. That makes it easier, somehow, to blow a big breath out and go still while they wait for the lift to finally arrive. It's just another recce with Liam, after all. 

That confidence all goes out the window when they finally make it to Liam's room, Liam carefully putting the Do Not Disturb hanger out before double locking the door. They're not just having a snog on a balcony during an end of tour party now that they're here. This is intentional and undeniable, and Louis usually likes to have at least one available exit.

But then Liam walks up to him, looking the same mix of excited and scared, and Louis remembers why this felt like it might be worth it, in the end. "I don't--" Liam starts and then stops. He grins wryly and starts again. "Come here, baby."

Louis goes. 

If the balcony felt controlled and safe and almost soothing, this is the exact opposite, the need and fear pouring out of Louis. But Liam meets him for all of it, holds him tight while they kiss and stumble over to and onto the bed. Louis ends up sat between the open v of Liam's legs, lifting his arms up so Liam can strip his shirt off and then holding Liam's face in his hands, kissing him hard. Liam's hand sweeps up and down Louis's belly, fingers just brushing down over Louis's dick and then coming back up to pinch his nipple. 

Louis gasps and pulls away for a moment, his back arching into the touch. Liam watches him while he reacts, his eyes not missing anything when Louis moans at a particularly hard twist. "I've only got one hand right now," Liam says, moving over to the other nipple, "so you'll have to show me what you like." It takes Louis a moment to realise what he's saying, but he's already working his jeans open and shoving down his pants when Liam says, "Touch yourself, baby." 

The noise Louis makes at getting a hand on his dick is swallowed up by Liam's mouth as he kisses him again. He should slow down, try and make it last, try to show Liam exactly what he likes, but he's already too desperate and keyed up from talking about this, racing toward the finish line already. Liam pulls away from the kiss and Louis whines, but he just rests his forehead against Louis's and stares down at Louis wanking. 

"You like it hard," Liam says, and Louis gasps and squeezes harder, pushing his foreskin up over the leaking head on the next stroke. "Are you close?"

Louis nods, his hand moving so fast his forearm starts to cramp. "Yes," he says and leans in to kiss Liam.

Liam thumbs over his nipple before pinching again, hard, and Louis's hips jerk up. "Who are you doing this for, baby?" he asks, kissing Louis deeply before pulling away. "Who's it for?"

"It's for you, Daddy, for you, oh fuck," Louis cries out, coming as he says the word, his entire body shaking from the force of it. Liam is kissing him again, his hand running up and down Louis's body, curling over Louis's hand on his dick and squeezing while Louis strokes out the last of his orgasm, and he shudders again. 

"Daddy," he says again once he's caught his breath, his heartbeat beginning to slow down. He kisses Liam again, feeling both completely exposed and so, so safe. Safe enough that he can ask, "You liked that?" He moves in for another kiss before Liam can answer, but he feels Liam's laughter in his chest. 

Liam takes Louis's filthy hand off his own cock and moves it over to where Liam is still hard and ready to go. "I liked it," Liam confirms, smiling at Louis like he's an idiot.

"You've just got my come all over your jeans," Louis replies. Who's the idiot now? But Liam just shakes his head.

"It's worth it. Not the first time we'll be sending out dirty washing that's disgusting," Liam says, and he sounds so completely unbothered by everything that Louis is suddenly determined to change that. 

"Well, I want to do something for you, Daddy," he says, rubbing his hand over Liam's dick, gratified when Liam closes his eyes and tips his head back, mouth open in a pant. 

"Whatever you want, baby," Liam says, his tongue flicking out over his bottom lip. 

"Well, what I want is for you to hold me down and fuck me," Louis says, the words easy to say now that he's come and Liam held him through it and somehow the world didn't end. Liam snaps his head up and stares at Louis. "But that'll have to wait until you're out of that cast."

"Sorry," Liam says, watching while Louis wriggles around and gets Liam's dick out. 

Louis smiles up at him. "Don't be, I've wanted to do this for ages, too," he says, and he leans over and takes Liam into his mouth. 

Liam is a terrible liar in general and even worse when it comes to lying to Louis, so he hadn't actually worried that Liam was just humouring Louis with this whole thing. But getting this kind of first hand (first mouth?) reassurance that really, Liam is perfectly happy to get his dick sucked by Louis is still nice. Because Liam doesn't hold anything back, his left hand going tight in Louis's hair the moment he begins to suck, his dick plumping up and getting harder by the second. Louis only has to listen to his instinct, trusting that he can read Liam as well with his dick in his mouth as he can at all other times, and it's over before he knows it, Liam chanting his name while he comes in Louis's mouth, legs twitching against Louis as he shakes through it.

Louis pulls back just enough to swallow, his entire body thrumming with sex and satisfaction cutting through the exhaustion from the end of tour. He rests his head on Liam's thigh, hand still holding Liam's dick while it slowly softens, and he blinks up at Liam panting through the aftershocks. "I'd think you'd never had a blowjob, Liam, with that sort of stamina."

"Never got one from you before," Liam says, looking down at him, and Louis flushes with pride. Liam strokes his fingers over Louis's cheek. "Hey, you called me Liam."

"What else am I going to call you?" Louis says, turning his head to kiss the palm of Liam's hand. They've both just had extremely satisfying and fairly kinky orgasms, he thinks he can be forgiven a bit of mush now. 

"Well, you know," Liam says, his cheeks going pink. "Daddy. Since I thought that's what you wanted."

"You're still Liam to me," Louis says, his heart clenching at how uncertain Liam looks. "I don't want any daddy, I want you."

"Daddy Liam," Liam says, and Louis winces a little.

"Okay, that's a bit too much for me, I think. It's just." Louis tries to figure out how to say it. "I don't only want you if you're my daddy, and I don't just want a daddy. This is just a piece of it."

"Oh," Liam says quietly, looking gobsmacked. 

"Thought I was just using you to get my rocks off?" Louis asks, and grabs and kisses Liam's palm again, pressing it to his face. 

"No," Liam says loyally, but Louis can hear the lie. He bites Liam's palm gently; Liam's hand twitches but he doesn't pull away. "I want you too, Louis. In every way."

"Course you do," Louis says, his voice going a little gruff. He closes his eyes while Liam gently runs his hand through Louis's hair, and he lets himself believe.

 

EPILOGUE

 

It had only been a week since Louis last saw Liam, but somehow that was enough time for his entire world to shift without him knowing. 

"You shaved," Louis says without thinking. He's staring, he knows, but he can't get himself to stop. Liam _shaved._

"Yeah, I couldn't at all while my arm was broken and now that I've healed I thought, time for a change," Liam says, turning his head this way and that. "My face looks weird now."

"Your _face_ looks weird," Louis retorts, then thinks over what he just said. 

Liam laughs. "I just said that!"

"It was properly insulting in my head, trust me," Louis says, but Liam is still giggling. 

"I feel like I'm back on X Factor, I look so young now," Liam goes on, hand still rubbing over his cheek. He stops suddenly, half-smile falling from his face. 

"What?" Louis asks. "You leave the gas on or something?"

Liam shakes his head. "No, I just--did I mess it up?" he asks, sounding hesitant. 

"Mess what up?" 

Liam's cheeks pink up a bit, and that's certainly more pronounced when there isn't a beard hiding his face. He leans in close. "You know, like. Is the beard what made you want to call me it?" 

Oh. "What, daddy?" Louis asks casually, just to see the red creep higher up Liam's face. "I mean, the beard doesn't hurt. But I called you that back when you had curls."

"But not like that," Liam says confidently. 

"Not _not_ like that," Louis corrects him. "It was a two for one, really. Take the piss out of you, and also I got to call you it."

'What?" Liam asks.

"So it's not really dependant on your looks. It's just who you are," Louis explains. He crosses his arms over his chest, suddenly feeling a bit crabby. "Besides, you're two years younger than me, so obviously it's not about age."

"One year and eight months," Liam corrects.

Louis rolls his eyes. "Yes, because those four months make all the difference."

"They might do," Liam says stubbornly. "And really? It's been that long?"

"Yes, stop making fun of me for it and kiss me," Louis says, beginning to get proper grumpy. 

"I'm not making fun, I'm just surprised," Liam protests. Somehow he's still not kissing Louis, so he takes matters into his own hands and grabs Liam's face to pull him in for a kiss. It is a bit weird to feel his smooth-shaven cheeks, but even better is the feeling of both of Liam's hands on his body, Liam holding him so tight and taking all of his weight as they kiss. 

Louis finally pulls away, trailing his fingers down Liam's face and along his jaw. "Yeah, I guess that'll do," he says, smiling back when Liam beams at him and kisses him once more.


End file.
